The Australian government's current policy for automotive industry is"fractured"and failing to respond to the entire industry's medium to longer term needs. A comprehensive, whole-of-industry policy is needed to help the industry be better prepared for challenges, according to the Australian Motor Industry Federation (AMIF).

At an address entitled "An Industry at Crossroad"at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, AMIF CEO Richard Dudley said the industry was facing a "perfect storm" where every sector of the automobile industry is undergoing generational change.

He therefore called on the Australian government to recognize the challenges the industry has been faced with and release a Green Paper and a White Paper as roadmap for the automotive industry to rise from current difficulties.

Earlier this year, Ford Australia announced it would close its manufacturing plants in October 2016 while General Motors Holden said it will lay off 500 workers due to falling demand and the high Australian dollar.

Dudley particularly emphasized on the difficulties that businesses other than car and component manufacturing have encountered.

He said Australia is now the most volatile, competitive and unique automotive retail market in the world. Australia's 23 million population have a choice of 365 unique model variants of 67 brands, compared with 40 to 50 brands for over 300 million people in the United States.

AMIF has found globalization, the convergence of information communication technology and mobility, environmental protection policy, rapid application of technology advances, workforce shortages, changing skill requirements and shifting consumer behaviors all posed grave challenges.

For example, consumers are able to research and order parts and accessories from all around the world, often at cheaper prices compared to domestic prices.

Meanwhile, a Sport Utility Vehicle, or SUV, may have"more computing power than was used to get astronauts to the moon". It has 26 individual computers operating across seven different digital networks, three on-board radar systems, four medium intensity lasers, three ultrasonic proximity systems and 100 of sophisticated sensors.

The speed at which new technologies are being applied to vehicles has accelerated dramatically, impacting not only manufacturing, but also the downstream automotive sectors of retailing, service, repair and recycling.

Dudley said independent mechanics are finding it difficult to keep up-to-date with the onboard technology of the hundreds of different car models available.

"A motor mechanic is now part diagnostic technician, part computer engineer, part mathematician, "he said.

In 2012, Australia's automotive workforce decreased by 16,000 people. Some 2,700 people left car and car component manufacturing and more than 13,000 people left the automotive service and repair sectors over the same period, Dudley warned.

He lashed out on the government's policy of tightening the 457 working visa, saying it is an ad-hoc, ill-thought policy without truly understanding the role of skilled migration and its importance to many different industries.

Dudley said that significant adjustment or complete sector restructure is "inevitable" for the Australian automotive industry, especially for retail service and repair and recycling automotive sectors.

Dudley called on the next government after the September 14 federal election to develop a green paper to illustrate all the challenges and a white paper on the government's response to those challenges within 12 months.